'Quota' criticism in CHP ahead of the Charter Congress: 'There is no point in saying primary'

Preparations for the Republican People's Party (CHP) Charter Congress, scheduled for September 4-9, are ongoing.

Ahead of the highly anticipated congress, the party leadership shared the draft text prepared to receive internal criticism and suggestions with deputies and Party Assembly (PM) members. 

According to a report by Cumhuriyet, party members have approached the draft text prepared for the CHP's Charter Congress with caution.

CHP figures assessed the situation by saying, “There are those who reacted immediately to the text, those who said ‘there have been very few changes,’ and those who find it reasonable. However, the charter commission will meet two more times before the congress. Everyone's opinion will be taken again. There is time to make changes.”

Deputies, PM members, and provincial chairs primarily criticized the methods for determining parliamentary candidates and the articles regarding primaries in the draft text.

"THERE IS NO POINT IN SAYING PRIMARY"

Stating that according to the draft text, the leadership's quota for determining candidacies has been increased from 5 percent to 15 percent, some party members offered the following criticism and suggestion: “When you adapt this situation to parliamentary candidacy, the leadership gains the authority to determine 90 deputies. If you wish, you can place these 90 people in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir, and make the 90 people you want deputies without a primary. In that case, there is no point in saying ‘primary.’ This quota should cover the provincial level, for example, rather than the whole of Turkey.”

In response to these criticisms, the defense was made that “The chairman wants to use 5 percent of the quota for youth branches, 5 percent for women, and 5 percent for people who are truly needed in parliamentary commissions.”

Some deputies, who also stated that there should be clearer criteria regarding primaries, said, “There must be clear criteria for the member structure that can participate in the election. Otherwise, it will not be a democratic primary as we imagine. For example, criteria could be set such as the member participating in the primary having been a member for at least two or three years, having taken an active role in the election process, and paying their dues regularly. In other words, it should be ensured that those who are truly dedicated to the party, the real party members, determine the candidates.”

News Source: 12punto